I have started a reread, my first in over 2 years, in preparation for JordanCon, not that it needs much preparation, but I did volunteer to do panels and I am starting to forget some stuff.

I decided to start with New Spring this time. I haven't gotten very far, but I wanted to comment on the theory that Lord Emares's unnamed lackey was Weiramon.

I am thinking that this is unlikely because Lan said the officer was low-ranking. It is hard to imagine a High Lord, or a High Lord's son, ever being a low-ranking officer. I suppose the helmet could have been a disguise, though. It was a very Darkfriendy move.

I am thinking that this is unlikely because Lan said the officer was low-ranking. It is hard to imagine a High Lord, or a High Lord's son, ever being a low-ranking officer. I suppose the helmet could have been a disguise, though. It was a very Darkfriendy move.

Some military cultures required their "noble" children to work their way up from the bottom, so its at least within the realm of possibility.

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More fools know Jak Fool than Jak Fool knows!

" 'Looks like the game can be won after all,' [Mat] said. 'Tell the foxes I'm mighty pleased with this key they gave me. Also, you can all go rot in a flaming pit of fire and ashes, you unwashed lumps on a pig's backside. Have a grand bloody day.' "

"Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day."

I'll get back to this soon; I got distracted by Sherlock Holmes. I watched the BBC series, and then felt the need (for the first time) to read the original stories.

The BBC series is great...Cumberbatch and Freeman are both phenomenal in it.

__________________Bonded to Brita

"We caught them in an alley on skid row in downtown Philly and brought them down with Uzi's and dogs. I beat the shit out of one of the guys for resisting arrest. After that, I went home, fried up some tofu with strawberry preserves and melon sticky rice, laid down on the couch with my snuggie and ate rose petals in sweet daisy wine sauce and watched Mamma Mia on DVD and then cried myself to sleep."

A lot of un needed "are they gay" references are the only thing about that show that annoys me. And usually I poke holes in everyrhing. Except 24. Which will forever be amazing.

I actually find it funny because it annoys Watson so much and Holmes has always been fairly asexual anyway. I don't see it as the older annoying humor of "gay=bad" as it is done in a manner that isn't really gay-bashing.

Its similar, in my mind, to the Seinfeld gag..."I'M NOT GAY...Not that there's anything wrong with it"

The biggest problem now is that both Freeman and Cumberbatch have seen their careers take off significantly so finding time to film new series is getting much harder for the Production team. Cumberbatch is now a leading man and Freeman has had some pretty impressive roles too...including a great job in the Fargo mini-series if you haven't had a chance to see it yet.

__________________Bonded to Brita

"We caught them in an alley on skid row in downtown Philly and brought them down with Uzi's and dogs. I beat the shit out of one of the guys for resisting arrest. After that, I went home, fried up some tofu with strawberry preserves and melon sticky rice, laid down on the couch with my snuggie and ate rose petals in sweet daisy wine sauce and watched Mamma Mia on DVD and then cried myself to sleep."

I actually find it funny because it annoys Watson so much and Holmes has always been fairly asexual anyway. I don't see it as the older annoying humor of "gay=bad" as it is done in a manner that isn't really gay-bashing.

Its similar, in my mind, to the Seinfeld gag..."I'M NOT GAY...Not that there's anything wrong with it"

The biggest problem now is that both Freeman and Cumberbatch have seen their careers take off significantly so finding time to film new series is getting much harder for the Production team. Cumberbatch is now a leading man and Freeman has had some pretty impressive roles too...including a great job in the Fargo mini-series if you haven't had a chance to see it yet.

Haha, you hit the nail on the head dav! I knew it reminded me of something. I hate that gag in seinfeld. In truth I'm not a fan of the seinfeld series in general.

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You know what is comparable to LotR? Dragonlance. -Toss the Dice

He just got carried away a bit this time, probably as a result of his marriage-gonzothegreat

Haha, you hit the nail on the head dav! I knew it reminded me of something. I hate that gag in seinfeld. In truth I'm not a fan of the seinfeld series in general.

For the mid-90s, that was a very good (and progressive) take on the issue. Its amazing how far that issue has come just since my childhood until now. I remember people using the insult "that's so gay!" all the time without a real thought to what they were really saying whereas just 20 years later, that would be anathema in even moderately polite company.

It's good to see. Of course now, the fight is really on to transgender rights as it is still apparently socially acceptable to discriminate there (just ask Florida with their current 'no transgender bathrooms' legal push)

__________________Bonded to Brita

"We caught them in an alley on skid row in downtown Philly and brought them down with Uzi's and dogs. I beat the shit out of one of the guys for resisting arrest. After that, I went home, fried up some tofu with strawberry preserves and melon sticky rice, laid down on the couch with my snuggie and ate rose petals in sweet daisy wine sauce and watched Mamma Mia on DVD and then cried myself to sleep."

I actually find it funny because it annoys Watson so much and Holmes has always been fairly asexual anyway.

I'm not so sure he was intended to be asexual. If I finish the books I might have a better idea, but apparently the only woman who ever made an impression on him was an opera diva, which has its own sort of subtext about which whole books have been written. In the books, Poe's "Murders at the Rue Morgue" is mentioned early on; that's another two-man mystery team with lots of established subtext.

19th century subtext is like a code language; you have to be in the know to pick up on it, and there's a whole branch of literary criticism/ queer theory devoted to just that.

It's been a long, long time since I've read them so I will defer to you on that part of it. I never picked up on it but then I wasn't really looking for it. What struck me most was his passion for the mystery and outsmarting someone (something Cumberbatch portrays quite well) and his substance abuse of course.

Perhaps they were "confirmed bachelors"...

__________________Bonded to Brita

"We caught them in an alley on skid row in downtown Philly and brought them down with Uzi's and dogs. I beat the shit out of one of the guys for resisting arrest. After that, I went home, fried up some tofu with strawberry preserves and melon sticky rice, laid down on the couch with my snuggie and ate rose petals in sweet daisy wine sauce and watched Mamma Mia on DVD and then cried myself to sleep."

It's been a long, long time since I've read them so I will defer to you on that part of it. I never picked up on it but then I wasn't really looking for it. What struck me most was his passion for the mystery and outsmarting someone (something Cumberbatch portrays quite well) and his substance abuse of course.

Perhaps they were "confirmed bachelors"...

Watson was not. That's one major thing that differs between Holmes/Watson and Dupin/narrator of "Murders in the rue Morgue".

England was probably the most punitive country in Western Europe in terms of homosexuality at that time and for at least a century previous. The Oscar Wilde incident occurred during the middle of the publication years for the Sherlock Holmes stories, but Wilde was evidence of an encroaching liberal attitude in England; not too long before, homosexuality was often punished by death. And of course, Alan Turing happened years after the Holmes stories were done. (Another Cumberbatch role, as it happens.)

Germany had some pretty repressive homosexual laws too during that period. If you'll recall, the Kaiser's own personal circle was rocked by the Eulenburg scandal.

The Kaiser's own "boys only trips" to the Norwegian fjords every summer look a bit odd in retrospect too of course.

__________________Bonded to Brita

"We caught them in an alley on skid row in downtown Philly and brought them down with Uzi's and dogs. I beat the shit out of one of the guys for resisting arrest. After that, I went home, fried up some tofu with strawberry preserves and melon sticky rice, laid down on the couch with my snuggie and ate rose petals in sweet daisy wine sauce and watched Mamma Mia on DVD and then cried myself to sleep."

These things are relative. It all seems oppressive to us, but there were stark differences in laws, penalties, and enforcement practices. Despite Paragraph 175, Berlin became a haven for homosexual people in the lead-up to WWII.

I will pick it up again probably around the time the Companion comes out. For now I need to concentrate on French, but after the Companion comes out I'm going to spend more time concentrating on RJ's notes in preparation for the panel on that topic at JordanCon next year.

I am relistening to the audio books in advance of the Companion this November and JordanCon in the spring. I'm only on Lord of Chaos right now, so I won't finish all of them until well into the spring (I listen on my commute, about 30 minutes each way, except when there's baseball).

Every book I listen to again makes me appreciate all the richness of detail that RJ laid down in them, especially after getting to see his notes at College of Charleston. It's awesome.

I hope the C of C wasn't flooded too badly. There was a photo I saw from Calhoun Street (which is where the library is located) where the water was up at least halfway to 2/3 on vehicle doors. I'm wondering about Harriet's house and Team Jordan's offices (in the Carriage House), too.

Random place for this, I know. But it was about a reread/listen, sorta.

Edit: I just wanted to mention that I'm not suggesting with the Charleston flooding that RJ's materials at the library are in any danger. The Special Collections area is on the 2nd floor of the library. Just wondering in general about C of C and Harriet's house and all that....

I think both easily imply knowledge and judgement that the Aiel and the current generation of Aes Sedai are something other than what they were when the Forsaken were sealed.

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More fools know Jak Fool than Jak Fool knows!

" 'Looks like the game can be won after all,' [Mat] said. 'Tell the foxes I'm mighty pleased with this key they gave me. Also, you can all go rot in a flaming pit of fire and ashes, you unwashed lumps on a pig's backside. Have a grand bloody day.' "

"Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day."

Chapter 38: LoC
Mat: You’ll need those cushions if this so-called Amyrlin finds out about this little joke of yours.

Obviously, Mathrim Cauthon is a Forsaken too (on top of being the actual Dragon Reborn, as I've shown in a previous thread). But is Mat Demandred, or is he another one? And why didn't Rahvin recognize him when they met? Perhaps Mat hadn't been replaced by a Forsaken at the time, but if so, when did it happen? The obvious solution, of course, is that it is the *finn. Which means that Moiraine is a Forsaken too, at the end of the series.

Or perhaps the "so-called" issue isn't as conclusive as many people think at first sight. (Me, I'd overlooked the Moghedien example, thus leading me off into an idea that only male Forsaken used the "so-called" phrase, while females used "who called themselves". RJ was surprised and amused by that speculation, then he shot it down thoroughly.)

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I do not anticipate the invention of a working time machine in the foreseeable future.

The so-called Aiel thing has always been one of the biggest Taimandred clues. He speaks as though he were conditioned by 2nd Age culture. This was later explained away as being something he picked up from his Forsaken bosses.